PORT ANGELES, WA — Human skeletal remains discovered in a sleeping bag inside Olympic National Park have been identified as Joseph Louis Serrao Jr., a Hawaii man who disappeared in the late 1990s. The identification was announced by the National Park Service nearly three decades after the bones were first found.
Investigators said the case began in July 2000, when a researcher found a skeleton in a tent in the Sol Duc River drainage area and alerted authorities.
How the Remains Were Found
A pathologist with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office estimated the remains belonged to a man between 30 and 50 years old who had likely been dead for six months to four years. Items recovered from the tent were also examined by the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory.
Even with those early checks, investigators could not recover usable fingerprints, and the man’s identity stayed unknown for years.
DNA Breakthrough In 2024
The case moved forward in 2024, when a forensic anthropologist with the medical examiner’s office sent a DNA sample to Othram, a lab that works cold cases with advanced testing. That analysis produced leads pointing to possible relatives.
By 2025, investigators had identified likely family connections and started reaching out to relatives in several states, including Hawaii.
Family Connections Confirmed
Authorities said they coordinated interviews and collected reference DNA samples to confirm the match. Based on genetic, genealogical, and circumstantial evidence, investigators concluded the remains were Serrao’s.
Family members told authorities Serrao was originally from Hawaii and had been in Washington before he went missing. The last known contact with him was in 1998.
No Cause Of Death Released
The National Park Service said the investigation remained open for years because the goal was to identify the person and give answers to his family. Debra Flowers, deputy chief of the agency’s Investigative Services Branch, said the persistence and collaboration behind the identification could bring some measure of closure.
Authorities did not release a cause of death.
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